Apparatus for delivering mail.



W. J. GRIFFITHS, JR. APPARATUS FOR DELIVERING MAIL.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.25. 19:2.

1,15?,9@1 Patented Oct. 26, 1915.

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W. J. GRIFFITHS, JR.

APPARATUS FOR DELIVERING MAIL.

APPLICATION F|LEQ MAR.25. 1912.

Patented Oct. 26, 1915.

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W. J. GRIFFITHS, JII.

APPARATUS FOR DELIVERING MAIL.

APPLICATION FILED MAII.25. 1912.

1,157,981. Patented Oct. 26, 1915.

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erarns rarnnr orrron WILLIAll/I J. GRIFFITHS, JR.,. OF MOUNT VERNON, NEW YORK, ASS IGNOR TO ELECTRIC MAIL CARRIER COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

APPARATUS FOR DELIVERING MAIL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 26, 1915.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, WILLIAM J. GRIF- FITHS, J11, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Mount Vernon, VVestchester county, New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Delivering Mail, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in mail delivery apparatus with particular reference to apparatus for delivering mail to the tenants on the different floors of apartment houses or other large buildings.

The object of the invention is to provide means whereby mail or other matter may be automatically conveyed from a charging or starting station to predetermined delivery stations in the building and automatically discharged at these latter stations, together with means or mechanism whereby the operations of the carrier are controlled auto matically so that only a given carrier will discharge its contents at a given discharge or delivery station.

Other objects ancillary to the main object of the invention will appear later.

To this end the invention comprises such parts and elements as together are comprised in a mail delivery apparatus as hereinafter set forth while reference is had to the accompanying drawings in which- Figure 1 is a front view, partly broken away, of a mail delivery apparatus embody ing my invention. 2 is a central vertical section of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but with the front portion removed. Fig. 4 is a sectional view of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a side view of a mail carrier or boX and also shows details of the mechanism near the charging or starting station, parts being in section. Fig. 6 is a front view of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a top view of Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a view showing a mail carrier in the position of discharging mail. Fig. 9 is a diagram of the electrical controlling means, and Fig. 10 is a detail view of a signal apparatus.

Referring in general to the first four figures, which are largely diagrammatic in character, the apparatus comprises a casing l hereinafter referred to as the shaft. The

is applicable to a building of any height and with any number of tenants on the floor.

' Each delivery box is provided with a door 8 which can be opened by key by the tenant whose mail is delivered in the particular box. On the machinery floor 9 there is provided a hoisting apparatus represented by the drum 10 operated by the motor 11. From the one side of the drum a cable 12 passes up through the shaft to the top thereof, over a pulley 13 and the other end of said cable is attached to and supports the carrier frame 14. Another cable 15 passes from the other side of the drum and up over pulley 16 to the counterweight 17 which balances the carrier frame and the carrier boxes. In this instance there are SlX carrier boxes 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 contained in the frame 14. The boxes are arranged in vertical succession, but might be arranged in two or more rows if desired. Each box bears the name of a respective tenant in the vertical order of their location. On the first floor, preferably, of the building the shaft is provided with an opening closed with a door 24. The latter is open and closed with a key by the person who delivers the mail to the tenants. In most, if not all cases, this person will be the regular letter carrier. That portion of the apparatus adjacent the door 24 will hereinafter be referred to as the charging or starting station 25, see Fig. 2. For the convenience of the letter carrier the names of the tenants may be displayed on the inside of the door as shown.

Referring now to Figs. 5 to 8 it will be seen that the frame 1% is provided with fixed shelves 526 having several ridges 27 upon which rest the carrier boxes 28. I will describe but one carrier boX, as they oted in the frame 14 on a shaft 29.

discharged, and 37 is a stop across the frame 14 to prevent the boxes from swinging too far to the rear after having discharged mail. On the shaft 29 is pivoted a catch 38 adapted to be engaged by a trip 39 fast on the pin 31 on which the lid is hinged. 40 is an ejector pivoted on the back of the box'at 11 and which is held in its normal position by gravity as shown in Fig. 5. The pin 31 extends through a slot 42 in the frame 1 1 which slot is shown near the top of Fig. 5 only for the sake of clearness, and outside the frame the pin carries a spring contact #13 adapted to bridge between two bars or contacts 4% which extend the full length of the charging station, Fig. 5.

The frame 14 is provided'with suitable shoes 15 which engage guides 4-6 in the shaft 1. In the latter isfixed a cam 47 opposite each delivery box, Figs. 1 and 2. These cams are spaced or offset horizontally in the shaft so that only one of them will door 24: will be so large that all the carrier boxes are in v ew at the same time when the door is opened. This will not'always 4 be practicable however, and in the drawings I have illustrated a proposition in which onlyhalf the total number of carrier boxes are visible through the door at one time.

Near the charging station 25 there is provided a three point snap switch 50 having a fingered wheel 5l adapted to be rotated by the cams &8 carried by the lower most carrier box as will hereinafter appear. Inside the door there is located an operating four point snap switch 52, which is the starting switch used by the person delivering the mail.

Referring now to the diagram in Fig. 9 it will be seen that the switches 50 and 52 are interconnected by the wires 53 and 54. 55 is a cutoff switch connected to switch 52 by wires 56 and 57. The switch 55 is operated by a solenoid for actuating a core which latter releases a brake on the hoisting drum 10. 60 is the field of the motor 11.

61 is a reversing switch operated by a solcnoid (32, and having three contact blades 63, 64 and 65. 66 is a screw which rotates with the hoisting drum 10 and upon which travels a nut 67 having a contact blade ()8 insulated therefrom and adapted to make contact with the contacts 69 and 70. The traveling contact 68 and contacts (39 and 7 0 form a limiting switch for limiting the travel of the carriers in the shaft. The blade 68 is connected by flexible cable 71 and wire 72 to the solenoid 69. and switch 55, and is also connected to the right side of reversing switch 61 at contact 73. Contact is connected to the left side of the reversing switch by wire 74. Both contacts 69 and 70 are connected to the bars 4- which are of a length equal to the height of a section of carrier boxes. 75, 76 are the electric mains.

The operation is as follows: Normally the carrier boxes are in the position shown in Fig. 2, that is the uppermost section of boxes is directly inside the door 24 and in full view of the letter carrier. The door is opened and mail. if any, deposited in the first three boxes. Then the operating switch 52 is pushed and the current passes from 75, through switch 50, wire 5-1, switch 52, wire 56, switch 55, solenoid 59 (releasing the brake), field 60, blade (33, through the motor 11, blade 64-, wire 7 2, contact 70 and out through main 76. Consequently the motor begins to rotate the hoisting drum and the carrier boxes ascend until the switch cams 48 engage the wheel 51 on the switch 50, throwing the latter to the right in Fig. 9 which cuts oil the current from the motor and also sets the brake and the second section of boxes stops in position to be charged. The brake is not shown as it is a matter of common knowledge to those skilled in the art to apply a band brake to a drum and operate the band by the plunger of asolenoid. Next the second section of boxes are charged with mail, the operating switch 553 is operated again and now the current passes by way of 75, 50, 53, 52, 56, 55, 59 and out as before through 76. This again starts the motor and now the carrier boxes ascend to the top of the shaft 1. At the same time, however, the nut ()7 is moved to the left on shaft 66 and the parts are so timed, that when the frame 14 has reached. the top of the shaft, the blade 3 on the nut 67 contacts with contact screw 70. This has the effect of throwing the solenoid 62 into the circuit and the current passing from switch 55 through 7 2, solenoid G2 and out through 71, 70 and 76.. When the solenoid 62 is energized, it pulls up the core and the blades 63, 64, 65 and now the current passes from 59 to 60, blade 64, through the armature in reverse direction, blade 63 and out thus reversing the rotation of drum 10 and the frame 14 with the boxes descends in the shaft. The nut 67 now moves to the right while the solenoid 62 remains energized, and when the blade 68 contacts with 69 the current passes from switch 55 through wire 77 to 69 and through 68, 71, 73, 65 and out through 74, 7 0 and 76. This flow of the current energizes solenoid 58 which then breaks the connection in switch 55 and the motor ceases to operate. The reversing switch drops and the circuit is ready for another operation.

The bars 44 will be bridged by the con tact 43 every time the lid is lifted on a box to insert mail or in case a lid should remain open by mail projecting from the box. While this condition exists the carrier boxes remain stalled because the bridging of contact 4L4 energizes solenoid 58 which breaks the connection at 55 whenever switch 52 is operated, and by this means the carrier boxes are prevented from ascending until the mail has been properly inserted in the boxes.

Another feature should be noted. hen the boxes descend the ejectors 40 will of course abut their respective cams 47 which will lift the ejector and swing it in under the catch 38 as seen in dotted lines in Fig. 5. And the ejector will not be released except as the lid is lifted when the trip 39 hits the catch to release the ejector, and this is only done when there is mail to be inserted in the particular box. Hence, when there is no mail the ejector remains up and that particular box is not swung into discharge position as in Fig. 8.

In Fig. 10 I have shown a signaling device to advise the tenant that mail is being discharged into his delivery box. 80 is a contact pivoted at 81 in the delivery box. When mail is being discharged, the contact 80 is brought into contact with a spring contact 82 and a local circuit closed to ring a bell or other signaling device 83.

The foregoing is thought to clearly set forth the construction and operation of the apparatus. Various changes in the detailed construction may be made without departing from the principle of the invention, but I claim all such changes as properly come within the scope of the invention and the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The combination of a shaft, individual carriers adapted to receive mail or similar matter, means for operating the carriers in said shaft and mechanism for operating only the loaded carriers into discharging positions at predetermined points in said shaft.

2. The combination of a shaft, carriers adapted to receive mail or similar matter, ejectors carried by said carriers, selective means in said shaft adapted to cotiperate with the said ejectors at selected points in the shaft to discharge the said carriers and means on the latter for keeping the ejectors inactive on the carriers which do not contain any mail.

3. The combination of a shaft, a plurality of mail carriers within said shaft, means for operating said carriers stepwise to load the same and for operating said carriers continuously the length of said shaft to discharge the mail, said means comprising electric motive power including an electric circuit, a manually operated switch for closing the circuit to operate the carriers stepwise, means for automatically opening said circuit after the stepwise movement of the carriers has been completed and means controlled by said manually operated switch for causing said carriers to travel the length of the said shaft.

4. The combination of a shaft, a plurality of mail carriers within said shaft, means for operating said carriers stepwise to load the same and for operating said carriers continuously the length of said shaft to discharge the mail, said means comprising electric motive power including an electric circuit, a manually operated switch for 010s ing the circuit to operate the carriers stepwise, means for automatically opening said circuit after the stepwise movement of the carriers has been completed, means controlled by said manually operated switch for causing said carriers to travel continuously the length of the said shaft, and a reversing switch for automatically reversing the current in said eircuitto cause said carriers to return to starting position.

5. The combination of a shaft a portion of which forms a starting station, a plurality of individual interconnected carriers adapted to be loaded with mail at said starting station, an electric circuit and electrically operated means for operating said carriers lengthwise in the said shaft, a pair of fixed contact members in the latter at the said starting station and connected to the said electric circuit and means carried by each of said carriers and adapted to bridge the said contact members to short circuit, the said electric circuit, while any one of the said carriers is being loaded.

6. The combination of a shaft, a plurality of mail carriers adapted to be loaded with mail at a given point in said shaft, an electric circuit for operating said carriers within the latter, a pair of fixed contacts in said circuit supported in said shaft at said given point, amovable contact member supported Signed at New York, N. Y. this 23 day on each of said carriers and means for autoof March 1912. maticall 0 eratin said movable contact I 1 r member to eo ntact i iith the said pair of fixed VILLIAM Glyn F1 5 contacts for short circuiting the said electric Witnesses: circuit While any one of the said carriers is IVAN KONIGSBERG,

being loaded. CHAS. Gr. R1011.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. 0. 

